Nick Wilde
Nick Wilde, also known by his full name Nicholas Wilde, is the deuteragonist of the 2016 Disney animated feature film, Zootopia. Background Official Bio :"Nick Wilde is a charming, small-time, con artist fox with a big mouth and a lot of opinions. But when a rabbit cop outsmarts him, he finds himself actually helping her solve a mystery."Zootopia Nicolas Wilde came from a poor background living with his mother (his father is never mentioned or seen). However, it is revealed when he was around 8 or 9 years old, his mother scraped up enough money to buy a uniform so he could join the Junior Ranger Scouts. He was happy and eager to be the first predator to join. However, the other prey members were not amused and during the oath, turned off the lights, ridiculed him, and savagely beat him and muzzled him. As he ran away, they laughed and he decided on two things: that he would never let anyone get to him, and that if people were only going to see a sly shifty fox that that was what he was going to be. This treatment seemed to continue well throughout his childhood and even to his adult years. Some of these instances are even shown in the film such as with the prejudiced Jerry Jumbeaux Jr. who specifically states he has the right to refuse to serve any customer he wishes and he abuses this power against Nick. Even Chief Bogo displays this behavior when Judy explains that she was attacked by a savage Manchas who had escaped and she says Nick is a prime witness, but Chief Bogo says he refuses to listen to the testimony of a fox who is untrustworthy. As Nick grew older, he became a scam artist selling popsicles by buying cheap giant ones from elephant ice cream stores and then melting them and refreezing them into smaller ones and selling them for a profit. He also at one point got into trouble with Mr. Big after selling him an expensive wool rug made from a skunk's bottom. Personality Nick Wilde is a shifty sly cunning fox, traits supposedly common to all foxes. He is easygoing and slick, easily conning and tricking others through his charm and friendly demeanor. He always has a sly smile on his face and seems unfazed throughout most of the film, as he later reveals that because of the numerous years of suffering from prejudice and stereotypes that came with being a fox, he decided on two things: He would never let anyone know they got to him and since people only ever saw then he would be that. This led him to be cynical and pessimistic of the world. This also led him to believe that people can only be what they are, not what they want to be. He is very street smart and intelligent and is also good at telling what kind of person someone is, as he was able to correctly guess upon simply meeting Judy that she was from a family of carrot farmers and graduated top of her class with high dreams of making it big and living in a place like Zootopia where it seemed like everything was great because people could live equally before displaying his pessimistic side and stating she would never make it and would return back home. Because he is a con artist, he is tricky and knows how to get out of sticky situations using his words and knows how to get around the city easily managing to evade Judy and tricking her into stepping into white cement. Despite being a con artist (or perhaps because of it), he has numerous friends and connections (most of whom are shady characters to begin with). He also got in trouble with at least one mob boss, notably Mr. Big (though by the end of the film they seem to have put the matter under the rug). He enjoys being sarcastic and poking fun at others particularly Judy, since she was much more serious than him and was a bunny, on occasion citing stereotypes such as carrot farmer and dumb bunny toward her. It is implied throughout the film and stated outright by Judy that his enjoyment at poking at other's failures comes from the suffering he endured and seeing other's pain makes his views about his own frustrating life feel better. However, when Judy saw more to him than that, he grew hopeful as he believed someone finally saw him for who he really was, implying that deep down that was all he ever wanted. However, when she unintentionally said bigoted comments about the animals going savage being predators and that their affliction was caused by their "biology" and something in their genes causing them tor revert, he felt betrayed as he (a predator) was once more being labeled as dangerous simply because of his species. He is also very forgiving, as he did quickly forgive Judy when she realized her mistake and broke down crying. He is also not a glory hound and seems to prefer remaining in the shadows, letting Judy take all the credit for finding the 14 missing mammals claiming it was because he was not a cop and so didn't need or deserve the credit. He also proved to be resourceful and intelligent, quickly figuring out that the cameras around the city could help them find where Mr. Otterton was and understanding how to avoid being caught on camera doing illegal things by using Underground Tunnel 16 and keeping evidence of Bellwether's treachery in case their attempt at hijacking the train where she and her minions grew Night howlers went awry, which it did and also coming up with the plan (alongside Judy) to switch the serum in the dart gun with blueberries in case one of Bellwether's minions caught them and to keep the serum as evidence. Prejudice towards predators remains a big deal for him, as he hates when others misjudge him but at the same time does his best to hide this anger under an easygoing facade and sarcastic comments and easily creating a comeback to retaliate. The only time he ever breaks from his easygoing facade are when he is scared for his life, or when someone close to him betrays him. This also shows he is loyal and caring to his friends. His friendship with Judy evolves to the point where he risks his life to help and protect her throughout the film. He even shows a softer warmer side to himself, comforting her over her mistake and giving her advice. He even refused to leave her behind when she broke her foot. Plot Infomation to come Relationships Judy Hopps Initially the two did not get along. This came in part because of the natural animosity that came from rabbits and foxes along with both of their own past experiences and different upbringings. Nick Wilde simply thought of her as a dumb bunny and used her naivety and sympathy to get her to help him defend against the prejudiced elephant ice cream store owner who refused to serve Nick and was disappointed when she found out he was conning her. He then explains that Zootopia is not the place Judy thought it was before analyzing her as a bunny who grew up on a carrot farm and got top marks at the police academy and came to Zootopia a place where everyone could be equal and where she could make a difference, before telling her that was impossible since the world was not as perfect as she thought and that they could only be who they were. He then successfully evaded her. When Judy learned he was a key witness in the disappearance of Mr. Otterton she blackmailed him by tricking him into admitting he had been evading taxes for years. He tried to slow her investigation down or dissuade her from continuing in order to receive the recorder back, but over time grew to care for her. When he saw Chief Bogo being prejudiced towards her and have her resign due to a false alarm, he stood up for her telling Bogo they still had ten hours. He then told Judy his backstory about how he tried to join the Junior Scout Rangers but the other prey members beat him, muzzled him, then ridiculed him causing him to decide never to let others know they got to him and to not try to be anything more than a sly shifty fox if they wouldn't give him the chance to be more. Judy sympathized with him due to being constanatly underestimated and ridiculed for her dream of being a police officer because she was a small, "cute" rabbit and the two finally managed to uncover the fourteen missing animals held by Mayor Lionheart. When they were to be congratulated, Nick assured her that the interview would be fine if she answered the questions with a question and then answered that. He refused to share the credit since he wasn't a police officer and graciously declined but Judy insisted he be her partner and even gave him a slip and her carrot recorder (which had his confession of tax evasion). Nick himself became eager and decided to apply until Judy unintentionally said bigoted comments about the animals going savage because of their "biology" as they were all predators and most likely succumbing to their predator instincts. He felt betrayed and began to remember the time he was ridiculed and muzzled, causing him to turn his back on Judy and being a police officer as he confronted her about the prejudiced remarks she made towards predators (and to extent himself) and confirmed it for himself when he threatened her and she nearly used fox repellent on him which he had known she had since they first met. When Judy learns there is more to the crime and that Night Howlers were flowers causing the animals to go savage, she goes to Nick to get his help and apologizes, saying she was close minded and stupid and breaks down crying. He records her heartfelt confession and apologizes, jokingly remarking he would give it to her in 48 hours. He later helped her fight against Bellwether's minions and when Judy broke her foot, he refused to leave her behind. He also helped Judy trick Bellwether into a confession. By the end of the film, the two have become partners against crime and Nick remarks to Judy, "You know you love me." with Judy responding "Do I know I love you? Yes, yes I do.". Overall, the two are true and good friends who believe in each other and are willing to risk their lives to help and defend the other, defying the stereotype that rabbits and foxes cannot get along. They enjoy playfully teasing each other and have different personalities and perspectives, but it is because they are so different that they can work well together to compensate for what the other lacks. Their shared experiences of prejudice and being misjudged and underestimated (Judy being underestimated due to her size and being a bunny which caused others to doubt she could be a police officer and people always fearing Nick and believing that as a fox he was shifty and sly without getting to know the real him) allowed the two to come to a mutual understanding. A romance might occur in the future. Finnick Finnick is Nick Wilde's partner in Nick's con tricks, most obviously the Jumbo Pop plan. Chief Bogo Not much interaction happens between the two. The most significant interaction was when Nick stood up for Judy Hopps when Judy was told that she was fired by telling Bogo that they still had ten hours. Trivia *Nick first appeared as a cameo in'' Big Hero 6, specifically on one of the billboards in San Fransokyo and with his likeness on Honey Lemon's phone case. *In the original ''Zootopia draft, Nick was the protagonist whilst Judy was the deuteragonist, however, their roles were later switched during production. *Nick's green Hawaiian shirt and con-artist behavior is a nod to the character's inspiration, Robin Hood. *His actor Jason Bateman, finished recording his voice on September 16, 2015. *Nick's shirt originally belonged to Clawhauser in earlier stages of the film's development.Byron Howard's Clawhauser concept via Twitter October 12th, 2015 *His dream was to be a boy scout. *His father is never seen or mentioned throughout the film. *He has a fondness for popsicles. *He habitually calls Judy "Carrots" and only once refers to her real name when he believes she is drowning after they evade a savage Manchas and fall into the river. He was frantically looking for her and called her name hoping she was fine, which she was. *According to his application, he is approximately 4 ft (1.2 m) tall and 80 lbs (3.6 kg) in weight. * Nick does not eat meat. Byron Howard's Answer to Nick Wilde Eating Meat Question January 20, 2016 References Category:Characters Category:Foxes Category:Males Category:Main Characters Category:Heroes Category:Police Officers Category:Deuteragonists